The outcome of the European Union summit, which took place on Thursday in Brussels, where the decision to provide 50 billion euros in assistance to Ukraine was approved, is also crucial for development assistance to the Western Balkan countries.

Several EU leaders have stated this following the conclusion of the summit in Brussels, discussing the rebalancing of the EU’s multiannual financial framework for the period 2021-2027.

On Thursday, EU leaders unanimously approved the decision, also securing Hungary’s agreement, which had blocked the decision for several months, requiring unanimous agreement from all member states. With this decision, a total of 65 billion euros is allocated to fulfill the EU’s budget for the next four years.

Of these, 50 billion euros will be macro-financial assistance for Ukraine, nearly 10 billion euros will be for managing illegal migration. However, 2 billion euros will be for the Western Balkan countries. These will be included in the EU’s plan for economic growth in the Western Balkans. This plan had been presented earlier by the European Commission, but the funds for it had not been secured until now.

Now the approval of the European Parliament is also needed for the EU to begin providing financial assistance for economic growth in the Western Balkans region. The European Commission has mentioned a comprehensive package of 6 billion euros. However, of these, 2 billion euros will be in the form of grants, while 4 billion euros will be drawn in the form of favorable loans for which the European Union will provide guarantees.

The European Commission has warned that the use of these funds by countries in the region will be conditioned by the rule of law.

Meanwhile, there will also be specific conditions for Kosovo and Serbia related to progress in the normalization process of relations between them.